The Challenge

Falling Debris & Tools Hazard

The headquarters of a large financial company located in Plano, Texas had a serious safety issue. In a five-story building full of administrative office staff – who don’t daily don hard-hats – the frequent use of a Lapeyre staircase leading to the roof posed a potential safety hazard.

Lapeyre alternating tread staircases are designed for accessing hard-to-reach places with steep descents. Having a smaller footprint than traditional stairs, these have the unused half of each step removed allowing the foot to reach the next step in a straight, direct line giving more usable tread depth – important for stability in steep angles.

Although the stairs themselves offer a safe route for the mechanics who routinely use them to access and work on the roof, the problem was the risk of falling tools or equipment through the openings.

While these types of stairs are very common in manufacturing plants – where workers wear hard-hats for protection from falling items – in an office environment stairwell, this just wasn’t safe.

The Solution

Durable Debris Safety Netting

Knowing our client’s full commitment to employee safety, Doug Hutchins, “The Warehouse Lifeguard” – Fall Protection and Storage Strategist, was sent to assess the situation and offer a solution.

Since requiring the office staff to wear hard-hats wasn’t going to make anyone happy, Hutchins thought of a better idea.  He recommended installing debris safety netting to put all falling hazard concerns to rest.

Specifically designed to catch tools and equipment ranging in sizes from nuts and bolts to hammers and drills, the debris safety netting is rated with OSHA’s 5,000-pound load requirement.

“OSHA’s 5,000-pound load requirement means the anchor system can suspend a full-size pickup,” said Hutchins, “more than enough to protect the office from anything that might fall.”

The netting itself is a combination of two nets layered and joined together with a three-inch high tenacity polypropylene webbing and double stitched with UV treated and lubricated polyester thread. This all adds up to a durable, tough fall protection solution.

The Result

Zero Falling Hazards = Worry-Free Employees

“We tested the netting by dropping tools from the stairs,” said Hutchins. “It took everything we threw at it.”

The debris safety netting was a simple and quick solution that was easy on the budget. Most importantly, employees are now safe to walk under the stairs without the worry of something falling on them.

Our good friends at the Plano TX financial office are extremely satisfied with the solution.

Contact us today for a safety assessment of your facility or concerns about workplace safety.

To speak with us directly, call us at 800-442-3061. We’re ready to help you with the right solution for your needs.